The Legend of Zelda: The Sword of the Prophets
by pikachu master
Summary: Shortly after Link's demise a new hero is born.
1. Training

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Prologue

The sun rose just above the peak of the mountain. As of now the air was still, the dew on the surrounding field began to sparkle as the light soaked in. Even during the most beautiful of mornings not a creature was seen, not a creature was heard. It was silent, deadly silent. The water of Lake Hylia began to shimmer, the sun now over the peak.

In front of the shining glory a lone silhouette stood tall, sword in hand, evil intentions. It could not be seen but a psychotic smile grew on his face, his hair now sailing as a silent breeze drifted across the field. Looking up at the man, Link stood firm, sword unsheathed, and a strong look of determination across his features.

The figure drew back his sword and began the charge, Link charged as well, prepared to defend his homeland. Swords collided, high pitch shrieks and sparks came forth with every contact. Soon, Link gained the upper hand as he rolled under the figure, missing the dark man's sword by fractions of inches. Link rolled face up, gained his footing, his boots slightly digging into the ground as he turned around and lunged his sword towards its spine. At the last possible moment the silhouette of a man shifted and instead Link caught him in the side. A deep cry came bellowing out from its throat as the blood began to pour. Link's hands grasped the Biggoron sword tightly and retracted it with a quick twist from the monster. Sickening sounds emanated from the body as the sword was withdrawn; more blood covered the dewy field. 

Before he had a chance to counter the monster turned and swung his sword with deadly force, a clean swipe from Link's lower right hand side up to the left side of his chest. His green tunic slowly became a dark crimson; he stumbled back a couple of feet and fell to his backside in shock. The demon-man advanced ever so slowly, Link looking up, horrified and wincing in pain. Its arm, along with the sword rose in the sunlight, Link's blonde hair clinging to his brow, a trickle of sweat on his face. One single word crossed his mind...Zelda.

The castle was quiet too this particular morning, it was if everything was frozen in time. Only the guards seemed to be void of this though, as always they silently patrolled the premises. Impa guarded as well, standing outside Zelda's door. Inside, the room was beautifully decorated; portraits of family as well as her occupied the walls. A large fireplace was to the left, looking as though it had been burning all night, to the side of it was a door, most likely a walk-in closet. To the left was a nice well-polished bookshelf with hundreds of neatly organized hardbacks and paperbacks, along side the shelf and closest to her bed was her dresser. A spacious window took its place on the wall next to Zelda's bed. Sunlight spilled on to the sheets and Zelda lay amongst the bundle, trying to dream sweet dreams, with Link's seed buried deep within her.

Outside the window a scream, although it be faint, was echoing throughout the land. Shortly after there was a hideous bellow of laughter. She had been asleep but she had seen everything, every gruesome detail of the short battle with her psychic ability. Her eyes fluttered open, it took her little time to realize that Link was no longer beside her, she sat up with a start. Zelda froze there, taking in what her ability had shown her. _It was a dream_, she thought, _I pray to the goddesses it was a dream_. Tears formed in her eyes and she curled up and began to cry.

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The Legend of Zelda: A New Link

Chapter I- "Training"

12 Years Later...

It is yet another beautiful day in the kingdom of Hyrule, it is an early Spring morning with unusually warm weather for it being so early in the season. So warm in fact that it, in most cases, almost became unbearable. Even with the unusual temperature the villages all around seemed to be very active, the yearly festival at Lon Lon Ranch was near, the people were preparing, excluding at least two. In the courtyard of Hyrule castle there was an appealing scene of flowers blooming and trees budding as well as a scene of combat. Sheik outmaneuvered an oncoming attack of a sword from above, she jumped high into the air, seeming to fall slowly, as if trying to levitate but not quite making it. Two empty hands disappeared behind her back, when they reappeared a full arsenal of daggers flew forth onto her attacker. A shield was held up blocking the daggers and a boomerang was thrown from the apparent enemy. The boomerang although clearly off target created a diversion for another setup. Sheik followed the object with her eyes, allowing the attacker to pitch his shield, like a person would throw a flying disc, at her. With a loud CLANG the dagger assault was permanently stopped, the attacker now jumped quickly through the air and with a dull thud landed behind Sheik and pointed the sword at the back of her neck.

"You lose, master." The sword was removed from her neck, she turned around and looked down at her young pupil. He was clad in nothing but a black tunic and large brown boots. His shaggy blonde hair swayed to the right as a light breeze came in from the open area beyond the courtyard.

_With the intense look in his eyes,_ Sheik thought, _he looks exactly like his father._

"Very good. I feel that your training is near an end," Sheik smiled underneath the hood, but it soon turned to a frown, "but I feel that there is something horrible on its way." Sheik then clutched her temple as if in pain. The young apprentice looked up to see tears roll down her cheeks and start to dampen the mask. He had seen her like this before, she was getting an "image" as she had called it. But, he had never seen an "image" have this much of and affect on her, and it really seemed to upset him.

"Sheik? Are you gonna be okay," he asked, looking at her with his big blue eyes. _My god_,_ he really is his exact double, _Sheik took his hand, "Don't worry Link," she started, taking second to clear her thoughts, "I'll be fine, but right now your mother needs you...she's waiting up in her tower.


	2. The Truth

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Chapter II- "The Truth"

Link looked up at Sheik, as if he was trying to read her thoughts, but he reluctantly turned and walked from the courtyard. He made his way down the stone walkway and kicked a stray pebble almost involuntarily and, as always, there was a sound, POOF, Link turned around. And as always there were traces of smoke floating up to the heavens. _Sometimes...I mean just once...I just wanna help her,_ he sighed and continued to the castle entrance. The doors shut noisily behind Link, startling him a bit. The guards around him kept on patrolling the halls; they saluted, as usual, when their paths crossed. Sometimes Link heard stories told by some of the sentries about a hero of Hyrule with the same name. His mother never did speak of that hero much, even when the topic came up in conversation; it seemed to hurt her. He could tell, the bond between his mother and himself was very strong. In the end Link figured the two must have known each other all those years ago, he had also heard about the hero's tragic death. A demon-man appeared one day, killed Link, and never returned, not one person even saw the...thing's... face. He walked up the grand staircase while continuing to try to sort out all of his feelings.

Princess or rather Queen Zelda looked through her diaries from around the time she and Link had first met. Flipping randomly through the hundreds of entries she stopped at the one she treasured the most, the one she wrote the night before their first time, and before the last time she would see him. She sat down on her bed and began to sob as she looked down at the aging pages. After all the years her feelings for Link had not changed, _I loved him and I always will._ There was a gentle rapping at the door and a faint, "Mother.. are you in there?"

"Yes," Zelda called back, wiping away a stray tear, "come in." The doorknob clicked as it was turned, the door parted slightly and Link poked his head in, "Did you want to see me mother?"

"Yes Link, I need to talk to you," Zelda said gently, "come here," she patted a spot on the bed next to her right side. The door creaked faintly when he opened the door the rest of the way and walked in. His hands pushed the doors shut, eyes never straying from his mother, the door shut with a click, no creak this time. Zelda couldn't help but smile as he ran his fingers through his hair, _his exact double._ Link sat down obediently and looked at his mother with questioning eyes, she apparently had a lot on her mind.

"Link...," she started, "You've been training with Sheik since you were five and now.. I.. I think that you're old enough to know the truth," she seemed to hesitate after the last statement, "it-it's about your father," she is now clearly upset and struggling to tell her son.

"Mom.. Mom," he tugged lightly at her arm, his voice began to quiver, "Should I go get Impa?"

"No," Zelda replied rather quickly, "No, Link," she spoke with a softer tone, sniffling, "Like I said, this is about your father. The reason why I had Sheik start her training with you when you were younger, I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"After whatever that monster was left this kingdom and after you were born I was always afraid of losing you. If the greatest hero in the world was able to be killed, I wanted you to learn his greatest techniques and even learn some new ones while you were still young, while there was still enough time."

"But why were you worried about me...he already killed...," his eyes widened as he looked at his mother's expression and she nodded, "my father?"

"Yes Link, the hero that you and your friends always talk about is indeed your father; I was always afraid it would return one day because you are of his blood. I wanted you to at least have a fighting chance if it were to return."

Link just sat there, listening, he did not know what to say. Zelda stood up and walked over to her closet and pulled out a small portrait, "Here Link, this is your father."

He took in the image on the canvas; he had intense blue eyes, soft yet firm facial features, and a sly smirk, with just a thin strand of blonde hair covering part of his left eye. Link looked up from the portrait and into Zelda's mirror, amazing, the only physical difference appeared only to be the color of the tunic and the age difference.

"It's uncanny," Zelda put a hand on his shoulder, "how you two look so alike, you even act the same way he used to."

"Really?"

"Really. Now Link," she took her hand from his shoulder, " we have someplace to visit right now; will you come with me?"

"All right, " Link handed his mother the portrait. After putting it away she led Link to the door; she looked in before closing the doors. She pictured him sitting there on her bed, playing the many songs he had learned on his ocarina, "My sweet prince." 


	3. Impa/Journey to Hylia

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Chapter 3-

Impa stood in place as the young Link rounded the corner in front of her; startled he stopped in place. The two stood there, face to face; a moment passed and a small, half-smile grew on Impa's face. Link's own grin began to grow. Her eyes were diverted when she heard the footsteps from around the corner; the light footsteps came closer.

"Queen Zelda," the woman's voice questioned. The queen's head peered around the corner, "Yes?"

"The time for the meeting regarding the festival is nearing, are you prepared?"

"Yes, but right now I gave to go somewhere with Link right now; we should be back in time though." Impa looked into Zelda's eyes deeply, as if trying to get inside her head. Then it hit her, hard, multiple images flashed in her mind in mere seconds. She began to feel dizzy, even slightly nauseous; her eyes fluttered and she shook her head, brushing off the feeling. Zelda hadn't noticed she was busy ruffling Link's hair, she then took his hand.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," and with that she and Link headed down the stairs. Impa took her hand and combed it through her long white hair. She too went down one level lower and looked out the spotless window. Outside there were many small hills covered with apple trees and various colors and types of flowers. The sun shone in over the land, small beams of light pierced the open areas of the trees and gentle winds caressed the foliage. She looked as far down as she could and saw Link and Zelda, hand in hand, walking down the dirt path. As the two disappeared around the corner and into the market place Impa reflected on the images. The sudden dizziness returned, her breakfast almost did as well.

The sounds of the crowded marketplace were behind them now, dulled to what now sounded like whispers and mumbling. Towns people had crowded around as royalty made its way out. Link looked about with his big curious eyes; he was twelve but not used to so much attention and compliments from complete strangers. He never did like to be the center of attention to so many people (that he didn't know). Teleportation by ocarina, not the ocarina of time mind you, was his main source of transportation. It was the perfect way to get around unnoticed. _But there's at least one person I want to notice me._

Sighing to himself, Link continued alongside his mother. Horses neighed from the right at Lon Lon Ranch and in charge was none other than Malon along with her daughter Navi (whom she named after the "fairy boy's" fairy). Her stable hand, Ingo was around as well. Talon had died four years earlier, leaving Malon to take over; Ingo had helped quite a bit.

Wind picked up from the north and kicked up some dirt on the trail and started a miniature dust devil. The dust eventually died out and Link brush some off his tunic. He looked up and saw Lake Hylia in the background. On foot it had taken them much of the day to walk across Hyrule Field, not to mention taking the little rest stops when trees that provided much shade came around. Sundown was near; hanging behind them was a ripe orange amongst the cotton candy clouds, as Zelda had described it to Link. A small grave marker stood atop a hill looking down upon Lake Hylia. It was a spot the Zelda and her son's father new very well.

"This was your father's favorite spot in all of Hyrule," Zelda said in a quiet tone, "we used to spend many hours here, he and I." She sat down slowly in front of the marker, Link knelt beside her and read its inscription: **Link, Hero of Time, Hero to his loved ones and all of Hyrule**. A small picture of the master sword was etched just below.

"He also came up here to train," her voice started shakily, "and to collect his thoughts when times became difficult." Link looked over towards his mother and tried to think of something to say. He always, _always_ hated seeing his mother this way. It was like it was totally unnatural for her to be unhappy. Link was troubled as well, he had just learned the purpose of his training was to defend himself against a ruthless monster that no one knows what or where it is and he also just learned his father was Link, the very Link that he and his friends in Kakariko had always talked about. Desperately he searched for words but could not find them, his eyes began to tear up at the thought. _My father.. Link... the hero I've always idolized_, Link's mind raced, _we... we could have been together, all these years but... that damned monster had to destroy it all._

The little bit of rage that had just been sparked at that point had been washed away by emotion towards his mother and father. Zelda lightly put her arm around Link and pulled him closer to her. Her own tears formed and rolled down her cheeks, she pulled closer and gave him a kiss of the top of his head during the embrace, "Shh, shh... Link it's okay," Zelda could not hold back much longer, _I must stay firm_, "Link, the purpose of us coming here was to ask your father's spirit for more guidance. You see, he treasured and put so much heart and soul into things from this very spot, I believe if we try we can channel though and reach him."

She now held him arms length away, looking into the Cerulean waters of his eyes, "Link, shall we try?"

He nodded in return. The two got to their feet and looked down at Lake Hylia and began to concentrate.


	4. Memories on the Ranch

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Chapter IV-Memories on the Ranch

Malon brushed the sweat off her brow as she finished the last bit of the day's work. She slumped down on a nearby crate and let out a heavy sigh of relief; the work seemed to be getting harder as the years passed on. The stallions and the mares continued their sprints around the farmland and the chickens were to the right, still bouncing around in search of food. Visions of he past revisited her when her gaze shifted towards the center of the ranch; there she stood, glowing in the blue light of the moon. Her mother's song was gently being sung by her younger self, floating into the nighttime atmosphere. From the gates another figure took shape and approached. It too was glowing in the light and looking on as if in some kind of trance.

_The fairy-boy! It's really him!_

With song overhead the boy walked closer to the singing girl, who was still unaware of his presence. Grass rustled underneath his boots; her eyes opened and realized that someone was there. From the distance Malon continued to watch, humming the song unknowingly.

"Mother," a new voice called out, "mother, are you okay?"

The images were gone now, Malon blinked and looked up, "Yes... yes I'm fine."

"I just wanted to let you know that supper's ready, I got it sittin' on the table," she pointed to the house. Navi smiled to herself. She enjoyed cooking as much as her mother loved working around the ranch, if given the opportunity she could do it for hours and if possible, days on end. While working inside she would sing to herself and...sing? Something new came to mind when she thought about the singing. Something concerning the tune her mother was quietly humming to herself. _What was it? It sounded strangely familiar. _Shaking it from her head she smiled at her mother.

"Supper," Malon looked up at the pink and orange sky, "Oh, I didn't realize it had gotten so late, sorry." She stood up next to her daughter, who was still clad in her baggy and tattered overalls with a red shirt underneath.

"Don't worry about it," she replied with another grin, "I'm thirteen it's really no big deal."

Malon returned the smile and took her hand and ruffled Navi's light orange hair and began to laugh. The sun continued it descent as the two walked through the door, Navi going in before Malon. The door closed behind them and the old wooden floor began to creak as the weight was set upon it. Chickens hiding in the hay on the opposite side of the room stirred at the sound. Halfway up the stairs Malon brought up the question concerning where Ingo was. Navi had replied as they walked through the second floor door that he had simply gone into Kakariko, _yeah to get a few drinks._

In Kakariko, just before dinner at Lon Lon had started, a certain farmhand came stumbling out of on of the buildings. Ingo staggered around the village quite a bit, unsuccessfully trying to find its entrance that led to the field. After a few trips around the grounds he soon found his way by falling face down near the tall tree by the steps. By this time many people around the village had caught a glimpse of him one way or another. Most looked disgustedly through their windows at him while children and a few others just stood and watched from where they were.

"Damn it," Ingo stated with a minor slur in his voice, "S-shomtimes, I wonder why I drink *hic* so much."

"I know," something in the background whispered, the voice was very deep but it had whispered, "I know why you drink."

Ingo crawled up to his feet and slowly made his way down the steps trying to shake the voices from his head. When he reached the bottom and started through the grass the voice returned, this time shouting his name.

"Son-of-a-bitch voice," he screamed back, "shut the hell up and let me go home!"

"You can go home, but let me talk with you first," the voice said, this time much more relaxed. Ingo stood in agreement, waiting for the person to appear. Dark matter began to surround him. It began to swarm over him; soon he couldn't see his own two hands in front of his face. His heart began to race; he had no clue what was going on. _There's no way that this is a hallucination!_ Before losing all conscious thought Ingo vowed silently to himself that he would never drink again.


	5. Reaching Out/Black Demon

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Chapter V: Reaching Out/Black Demon

"Concentrate Link," Zelda instructed, "You must try harder, keep your training in mind."

" 'kay," Link grunted. He closed his eyes and tried to focus once again, almost all of his energy was put into use. A strange energy began to flow around them. Heat as well as a bright glow came forth, at first barely noticeable, quickly it became obvious something was going on. The energy seemed to pick up, Link let out a scream, and his eyes widened and were filled with a white glow. Zelda shielded her own eyes with her right hand and took a couple of small steps back, the radiating energy from his body was outstanding. She looked down at his hands; they were curled up into small fists, clenched so hard that blood started trickling out from the inside. Something started to take form in front of the lake, eventually it took the shape of a transparent Link.

"Father," Link said to himself, Zelda could not see what her son was seeing but could feel a presence. It was growing stronger, she could still feel it, it had to be coming closer, Link, her Link, was there. Just as the energy seemed to be reaching its peak it disappeared all in an instant. The surrounding glow flickered away until everything seemed to be normal. Startled birds flew from their nesting places and began to sail over Lake Hylia. With most of the energy spent, Link collapsed into a small heap on the hill. Zelda quickly made her way to her son's side and lifted his head slowly off the grass.

"Link, Link... are you okay, can you here me," Zelda asked as calmly as she could. His eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. She ran a hand lightly through his hair, "Link, what did you see?"

He took a moment to let the thought come back to him and replied, "I saw my father, except, I could see through him. When he tried to walk over, that's when it happened."

"When what happened?"

"He came closer to me... and... and a big monster came out of nowhere and knocked him down hard, then they were just.. gone!"

"Link tell me, what did this monster look like," her voice started to become more concerned.

"I don't know, I couldn't see anything on it."

"So it was barely visible then?"

"No, it was black, solid black," as he said this he noticed his mother's face had gone deathly pale and she was staring out into space. Zelda was lost in deep thought, thinking about the premonitions in her dreams. Every once in awhile, before something terrible happened she would have a dream about a black image destroying the land. But it was not the land in the present time; it was the land and some other places in the distant future. The only words that were able to escape her lips were, "No, not again."


	6. The Sword of the Prophets

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Chapter VI- "The Sword of the Prophets"

After muttering those three words Zelda fell to her knees and began to cry. All of those dreams, those premonitions, she had known about the events for years. Every detail of the tragedies was etched in her mind, yet nothing could have prepared her for the beginning. She could taste the vomit in the back of her throat and the tears continued to stream down her face, "Link, my beloved, help us please."

"Mother...Mom, please stop crying, what is it."

It was now Link's turn to be the one to comfort; he put his arms around his mother and tried to calm her down. In between sobs Zelda was able to tell her story to Link; the stories of destruction, chaos, and death. Link listened closely to every word, many times during her story he too had to keep the tears back; it was so much for him. Just this morning he was a regular kid and now all this.

Soon, Zelda finished up and the two sat there, staring out at the lake. Both of them had a lot of thinking to do about what had happened and what they were going to have to do. Zelda snapped out of her trance and looked around, the sun was setting over the horizon and the sky was turning to a dark blue and purple. _We've been out here longer than I planned,_ Zelda thought, _...and I still have more to say._

"Link come on, we've got to get back to the castle and I have one last thing that I would like to tell you."

"Okay, are we gonna walk or are we gonna transport back?"

"We're going to walk back. There's one more thing that I need to tell you and with what's going to happen after tomorrow we could use one last peaceful walk."

Link didn't know what she meant by the last statement but he knew for sure that it wasn't good, not at all. They began on their journey back and Zelda knew it would be peaceful, ever since Link defeated Ganon, the monsters had vanished along with him. With the exception of the wet grass brushing against their feet all was quiet. Crows calling out into the night echoed across the kingdom, startling them at times. As soon as Lon Lon ranch came into view Zelda started again.

"Link, the black creature that I spoke about, it can be stopped. Far away from Hyrule there is a place that holds the key to its defeat. It is a special sword the prophets from the past created to dispose of the creature. The only way one can activate it is to have all three Triforce pieces, when Ganon was exiled his piece was lost, Link's spirit gave his up, and I too will give mine up for you."

"For me?"

"Yes, there were some prophecies that were pleasant, 'the warrior of a princess mother and Hero of Time will fight against evil'. I saw you fighting against this creature, this evil...each time you had the upper hand and were close to victory. The sword you used was the prophet's; the way to activate it is for one person to have all three pieces and survive dungeons to gain access to it. True heroes worthy of the sword can make their way through, it is then when you reach the sword you must use the Triforce."

_I can't believe this is happening, what if I don't do as good as her dreams say, what if I mess up horribly what if..._

"...Link...Link..are you okay Link?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm all right."

"Link," she lower her voice a bit, "I know it sounds like a whole lot to you now but have faith in yourself and your abilities, I know I do, and I your father does as well. I'm sure Sheik would agree she wouldn't be training you if she didn't have the fullest of confidence in your abilities."

They were in silence once again when they entered the marketplace. It was fairly quiet outside; there was the occasional bark from one of the loose dogs and the clanking metal from the patrolling guards. Some commotion was coming from one of the buildings around the Happy Mask Shop, _must be the drunks again, hootin' and hollorin' over their buddy's failure of finding the key._ A smile crossed Link's face at the sudden thought.

~~~~~

Link, now tucked in bed, once more, ran the events of the day through his mind, still hardly believing that this was happening to him. He could hear the guards outside walking back and forth and his mother pacing the halls. She tried to sleep, but something kept her awake, a mothers worry? She didn't know. Tomorrow Link was going to go through some preparation and later he would be off on his quest. Zelda reached her room and prayed silently that Link would be okay during his long journey. Although unknowingly to her Link was as equally worried.

_...if I screw up. What if I'm useless...Father...Mother...Sheik..help me please..._


End file.
